Sheffield Telegraph: – Branching out

Kevan branches out into the family tree business

 Published Date: 30 July 2010

Find out more >> Sheffield Telegraph Kevan branches out.

With degrees in computer science and family history, mature graduate Kevan Adams was the perfect choice to set up an internet genealogy business. Made redundant in 2007 by Sheffield Council where he was an IT support analyst, Kevan has started his new business, guided by Sheffield Hallam University to find financial help from a UK Steel Enterprise Kickstart grant to get afamilytreeforme.com up and running.

But the ancestral detection does not end with the computer. Kevan offers a personal family history investigation service, tracing ancestors, visiting archives, hunting down gravestones for their information and searching parish records.

His interest in family history started with his own Scottish background over 12 years ago and continued as a hobby. He then did a post graduate degree in family history and decided to set up his own business.

He said: “I want to work nationally and internationally and envisage 75% of my work will come from places like the USA, Canada, South Africa and Australia and New Zealand where people need help to trace their British roots.”

Allan Wood, executive at the Sheffield-based Corus Group subsidiary UK Steel Enterprise ommented: “The interest generated by television programmes into researching family history has opened up the market for such websites and Kevan’s added personal ancestral investigation service could prove a winner, especially for overseas customers.”

UK Steel Enterprise established their Kickstart Fund last year to provide small grants to help new entrepreneurs establish their new businesses in steel areas in South Yorkshire, Scunthorpe area and the West Midlands.